Turn on your browser and take a tour of www.ncrec.state.nc.us, the Commission’s website. (And, while you’re online, why not renew your license!)
You’ll see a fresh, new design, experience improved ease and speed of navigation and notice the use of the site as an important communications center on matters of current interest to licensees.
A significant change is the use of tabs at the top of each page labeling the major sections of the website: Home (page), About Us, Licensees, Applicants, Consumers, Rules/Laws and Schools. Text explains each section’s content with quick links to frequently accessed material.
Also, no matter where you are on the website, at the top right hand corner of each page above the Real Estate Commission name are the links for “Login”, “Site Map” and “Email”. Thus, for example, you can reach your records through the “Login” link from any page on the website.
The site’s major sections and the content of each are outlined in a site map accompanying this article. In general, the sectional content is as follows:
Home – Topics of current import fill the center of the page. Commission office address and phone number and a link to a map showing the office location appear in the upper left corner. The Commission meeting calendar appears on the right with a link for more information. Any changes in meeting dates will be communicated here.
About Us – Everything you want to know about the Commission is located here: Members, Mission and Goals, Frequently Asked Questions, Education Programs and Publications and other material.
Licensees – Clicking on this tab leads you to Licensee Records and Searches, Forms, Education Registration and Class Schedules, and Publications. You can login here to renew online, review your continuing education credits, update your records or change your PIN number. There are a dozen forms that can be printed out, completed and mailed in. Publications will enable you to order the Real Estate Manual, search past Bulletin content, and read and/or print out publications including four in Spanish.
Applicants – Here you’ll find the sections of the Real Estate Licensing in North Carolina book including exam schedules, study guide and other topics of interest to individuals considering becoming a licensed salesperson.
Consumers – Publications are repeated here. In addition, licensee searches and various forms are available.
Rules/Laws – Included here are the Real Estate Law, Commission rules, Fair Housing Act, and Trust Account Guidelines.
Schools – The links to Upload CE Rosters and Download Licensing Rosters are here along with forms to order candidate and licensee rosters.
This article came from the June 2002-Vol33-1 edition of the bulletin.
When John M. Dwelle entered the real estate business in Charlotte in 1936, the North Carolina population stood at just over 3.5 million. When J. C. Noggle entered the business in Hickory in 1950, it had risen to just over four million.
On May 15, with the state now home to more than eight million residents, the Commission honored Dwelle (Licensee #11) and Noggle (Licensee #10) along with Charles C. Cameron (Licensee #5) who was not able to attend.
The occasion marked the 45th anniversary of the passage of the North Carolina Real Estate License Law that governs the actions of the state’s nearly 80,000 active and inactive broker and salesperson licensees.
To find the honorees, the Commission searched its records of the first 45 real estate licenses issued to determine those whose licenses are still current and had not during any period become expired.
The Real Estate License Law became effective on July 1, 1957, with 2,300 persons receiving licenses by year’s end under the law’s “grandfather clause.” In December 1957, the first licensing examination was administered. Fifty brokers and twenty-six salespersons passed and were licensed. By comparison, 1,476 have passed the examination in the first four months of 2002. The number of licenses issued since 1957 now nears 200,000.
Both Dwelle and Noggle reminisced with Commission members about their early years in the business.
Dwelle recalled his first job in real estate at the age of 13 in 1927 riding his bike to collect monthly rents from tenants for his uncle. He was paid $1 for each collection.
Noggle, the first licensee and GRI from Hickory, remembers an unscrupulous practitioner offering to veterans for $100 “100% VA loans” that never materialized. It was this type of activity, he said, that motivated him to work for several years during the 1950’s for the establishment of the license law.
Because of the date of his entry into the business in 1936, Dwelle actually held a very early real estate license that had been legislated in 1927. That state law, however, covered only eight counties – Buncombe, Durham, Forsythe, Guilford, Henderson, Lee, Rowan and Wake – and was declared unconstitutional in 1939.
Over six-and-a-half decades as a licensee, Dwelle was always in business for himself as the broker for his firm, John M. Dwelle Company. A generalist, he was involved with residential and commercial sales and rentals, property management and property insurance. He joined the Charlotte Board of REALTORS® in 1941 when, he recalls, there were about 60 members and contributed to the founding of the board’s MLS in the late 1940s.
Noggle has been a major developer in Hickory and Catawba County. He built the first office building in Hickory and the first shopping center along with planning and building a number of residential subdivisions. Active with the North Carolina Association of REALTORS®, he attended 30 state conventions, and in 1956-57 worked on the legislative committee to move the new license law through the legislature. He helped found the Hickory-Catawba Valley MLS and was twice president of its board.
Both honorees, now in their 80s, still use their licenses to help with transactions from time to time.
This article came from the June 2002-Vol33-1 edition of the bulletin.
The Real Estate Commission gave a big “thank you” to staff members recently for their commitment and hard work, awarding service pins to 31 individuals with tenure ranging from five to 28 years.
Lieutenant Governor Beverly E. Perdue presented the service awards to each recipient.
Commission Chairman Lanny T. Wilson said that expressing appreciation was “like insurance in that it should be renewed on a regular basis.”
Recipients and years of service were:
Five-year awards – Faye E. Ray, Receptionist, Vivian A. Sellers, License Specialist, Janet B. Thoren, Deputy Legal Counsel, Rebecca S. Wilkins, Auditor/Investigator, all five years; Michael B. Gray, Chief Auditor/Investigator, Pamela R. Rorie, Continuing Education Officer, Robin F. Tanner, Auditor/Investigator, Susie H. Viens, Assistant to the Director of Audits and Investigations, all six years; and Wanda E. Johnson, Chief License Specialist, nine years.
Ten-year awards – Jennifer K. Boger, Senior Auditor/Investigator, and Stephen L. Fussell, Consumer Protection Officer, both 10 years; Gary R. Caddell, Senior Auditor/Investigator, Training Officer, and Paula L. Ricard, Financial Officer, both 11 years; Ronald G. Duranske, Examination Assistant., Wendy C. Harper, Technical Support Manager, Sammye G. Isenhour, Legal Secretary, and Johnsie V. Jefferys, Legal Secretary/Time Share Clerk, all 12 years; Brenda H. Badger, Chief Records Specialist, and Anita R. Burt, Education and Examination Officer, both 13 years; Miriam J. Baer, Assistant Director of Legal Services, 14 years’ service.
Fifteen-year awards – Frances N. Johnson, Assistant to the Director of Legal Services, 16 years; and Blackwell M. Brogden, Jr., Chief Deputy Legal Counsel, 17 years.
Twenty-year awards – Thomas R. Miller, Legal Counsel, Director, Special Deputy Attorney General, and Emmet R. Wood, Director, Audits and Investigations, both 20 years; Vickie R. Crouse, Data Processing Administrator, Larry A. Outlaw, Director, Education and Licensing, and Mary Frances Whitley, Director of Administration, all 23 years; Penny S. Childress, Assistant to the Director of Education and Licensing, 24 years.
Twenty-Five year awards – Jeanette H. Hamm, Assistant to the Executive Director, 25 years; Phillip T. Fisher, Executive Director, 26 years; and Gloria T. Williams, License Applications Specialist, 28 years.
This article came from the June 2002-Vol33-1 edition of the bulletin.
HARRY F. ANDERSON (Whittier) – The Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Anderson effective April 22, 2002. The Commission found that while his firm was no longer authorized to conduct business in North Carolina because of the suspension of its corporate charter by the state in 1991 and its administrative dissolution in 1993, Mr. Anderson continued to renew the firm license annually until its expiration June 30, 2001. The Commission further found that Mr. Anderson failed to enter into a written listing agreement for property he advertised and sold, misrepresented the true condition of property to buyers, failed to obtain the buyers’ signatures on and to deliver a Residential Property Disclosure Statement and employed an unlicensed receptionist, to whom he paid commissions on firm transactions.
ARRAN REALTY, INC. (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Arran Realty effective February 15, 2002. The Commission found that the firm failed to maintain accurate trust account records and perform monthly reconciliations in accordance with Commission rules. The Commission noted that Arran Realty cooperated fully in the inquiry and implemented requested bookkeeping improvements.
B & B ON THE BEACH, INC. (Corolla) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the firm license of B & B On The Beach, Inc., for a period of two years effective March 1, 2002. The Commission then stayed the suspension for a probationary term of three years. The Commission found that the firm had failed for a period of two years to perform the monthly reconciliation of its trust accounts required by Commission rules. The Commission further found that, as a result, the firm had not properly applied funds held for others to the purposes for which those funds were held. The Commission noted that B&B undertook to remedy the situation and implement required record keeping procedures.
CENTRAL REAL ESTATE CORP, d/b/a HARVEST TIME REAL ESTATE CENTRAL (Rocky Mount) – The Commission revoked the firm broker license of Central Real Estate Corp., effective March 8, 2002. The Commission found that the firm failed to accurately account for and remit funds it held for others as a broker, failed to maintain a system of ledgers, journal and monthly reconciliation, could not account for funds of others it received in the course of its brokerage business, and continued to deposit and disburse trust money from accounts with insufficient funds to meet liabilities. The Commission further found that the firm failed to maintain records of the transactions it conducted, allowed its broker to submit false documents to obtain loan approval, and unlawfully allowed unlicensed persons affiliated with it to engage in conduct for which a real estate license was required.
DANE Z. CLAY (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the salesperson license of Mr. Clay effective March 1, 2002. The Commission found that Mr. Clay failed to submit himself to the supervision of his broker-in-charge in multiple transactions. The Commission further found that after leaving the broker-in-charge, Mr. Clay failed to submit himself to the supervision of his next broker-in-charge when acting as a licensed agent.
EARLY AMERICAN HOMES, INC. (Whittier) – The Commission revoked the firm broker license of Early American Homes, Inc., effective April 22, 2002. The Commission found that while the firm was no longer authorized to conduct business in North Carolina because of the suspension of its corporate charter by the state in 1991 and its administrative dissolution in 1993, the firm continued to renew its license annually until its expiration June 30, 2001. The Commission further found that Early American Homes, Inc., failed to enter into a written listing agreement for property it advertised and sold, misrepresented the true condition of the property to buyers, failed to obtain the buyers’ signatures on and to deliver a Residential Property Disclosure Statement and employed an unlicensed receptionist to whom it paid commissions on firm transactions.
JONATHAN H. ELLIOT (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Mr. Elliot effective February 15, 2002. The Commission found that Mr. Elliot failed to maintain accurate trust account records and perform monthly reconciliation in accordance with Commission rules. The Commission noted that Mr. Elliot cooperated fully in the inquiry and implemented requested bookkeeping improvements.
MICHAEL J. FOX AND ASSOCIATES REALTORS, LLC (Charlotte) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the Michael J. Fox and Associates Realtors’ firm license for a period of one year effective April 1, 2002. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that the firm violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. The firm neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
ROBERT E. GARDINIER, JR. (Atlantic Beach) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Gardinier effective May 1, 2002. The Commission found that Mr. Gardinier failed to disclose on his 1997 license application that he then had a forgery charge pending against him in South Carolina. The Commission further found that Mr. Gardinier was convicted of the forgery charge and was subsequently convicted in North Carolina of other unrelated criminal charges. Mr. Gardinier was allowed to apply for a new license on certain conditions including that he make a complete and accurate application.
JON C. GILLMAN (Charlotte) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the salesperson license of Mr. Gillman effective March 1, 2002. The Commission found that, in his application for licensure, Mr. Gillman failed to make a full disclosure of his criminal history. Mr. Gillman was allowed to apply for the reinstatement of his salesperson license thirty days following its revocation on certain conditions including that he provide the Commission with complete information concerning his criminal convictions.
JAMES E. HARRISON (Fayetteville) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Harrison effective April 1, 2002. The Commission found that Mr. Harrison failed to properly account for monies coming into his possession and failed to adequately maintain his trust account records as required by Commission rules. The Commission also found that Mr. Harrison failed to reconcile his trust accounts on a monthly basis and that liabilities of his two trust accounts exceeded funds in those accounts. The Commission noted that Mr. Harrison since reimbursed those accounts and no consumer was harmed as a result.
SUSAN C. HASTY (Raleigh) – The Commission revoked the broker license of Ms. Hasty effective December 15, 2000. The Commission found that Ms. Hasty failed to accurately account for and remit to others funds held for them as a broker, failed to maintain a system of ledgers, journal and monthly reconciliations, continued to deposit and disburse trust funds from accounts with insufficient funds to meet liabilities, used a bookkeeping system that did not comply with Commission rules and used funds of some owners to pay expenses of other owners. The Commission also found that Ms. Hasty failed to supervise a firm salesperson and misrepresented to the Commission her supervision of that salesperson. Ms. Hasty appealed to the Superior Court of Wake County, which upheld the order of the Commission.
JAY C. JOHNSON (Fayetteville) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the broker license of Jay C. Johnson for a period of two years effective February 19, 2002. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that the firm violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Mr. Johnson neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
NEW DIMENSIONS REALTY, INC. (Fayetteville) – The Commission accepted the permanent voluntary surrender of the firm license of New Dimension Realty, Inc., effective February 19, 2002. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that the firm violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. The firm neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
LOU ANN NORRIS (Emerald Isle) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the salesperson license of Ms. Norris effective April 1, 2002. The Commission found that Ms. Norris pled guilty in United States District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina, to Bank Larceny in violation of federal law.
PINNACLE INN RESORT RENTALS & SALES, INC. (Banner Elk) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the firm license of Pinnacle Inn Resort Rentals & Sales effective April 1, 2002 for a period of three years. The Commission then stayed the suspension effective April 1, 2002, for a probationary a period of five years. The Commission found that Pinnacle Inn contracted with an individual to act as its broker-in-charge who did not properly maintain its trust accounts as required by Commission rules. The Commission further found that Pinnacle allowed the situation to continue for six months before taking remedial action.
RENTAL RESOURCES INTERNATIONAL, INC. (Raleigh) – The Commission revoked the firm broker license of Rental Resources effective December 15, 2000. The Commission found that the firm failed to accurately account for and remit to others funds held for them as a broker, failed to maintain a system of ledgers, journal and monthly reconciliations, continued to deposit and disburse trust funds from accounts with insufficient funds to meet liabilities, used a bookkeeping system that did not comply with Commission rules and used funds of some owners to pay expenses of other owners. The firm appealed to the Superior Court of Wake County, which upheld the order of the Commission.
MELANIE C. SHANNON (Oak Island) – The Commission accepted the voluntary surrender of the salesperson license of Ms. Shannon for a period of one year effective March 15, 2002. The Commission dismissed without prejudice allegations that Ms. Shannon violated provisions of the Real Estate License Law and Commission rules. Ms. Shannon neither admitted nor denied misconduct.
GLENN A. SHORT (Shelby) – By Consent, the Commission suspended the salesperson license of Mr. Short effective April 1, 2002 for a period of 12 months. The Commission then stayed the suspension effective May 1, 2002 for a probationary term of 12 months. The Commission found that Mr. Short, during the final examination of a pre-licensing broker course, consulted course preparation materials contrary to the instructor’s policy for the examination and the rules of the Real Estate Commission.
SUGAR MOUNTAIN LODGING, INC. (Banner Elk) – By Consent, the Commission reprimanded Sugar Mountain Lodging effective March 27, 2002. The Commission found that Sugar Mountain Lodging, at a time when it had no principal broker or broker-in-charge, continued to conduct its rental management business through its unlicensed officers and employees.
T&T RENTALS, INC. (Washington) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the firm license of T&T Rentals effective April 18, 2002. The Commission found that the firm issued a check in the amount of $25,000 to clients against insufficient trust account funds to reimburse security deposits for property managed by the firm. The Commission also found that a salesperson issued a personal check in the amount of $52,000 also against insufficient funds to the same clients to be held as collateral for rental income from the property. Neither the security deposits nor the rental income have been reimbursed.
SHERRY T. TOLER (Washington) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the salesperson license of Mrs. Toler effective April 18, 2002. The Commission found that Ms. Toler managed a brokerage firm without the supervision of a broker-in-charge. The Commission also found that Ms. Toler issued a firm check in the amount of $25,000 to clients against insufficient trust account funds to reimburse security deposits for property managed by the firm and a personal check in the amount of $52,000 also against insufficient funds to the same clients to be held as collateral for rental income from the property. Neither the security deposits nor the rental income have been reimbursed.
VIRGINIA S. WARREN (Washington) – By Consent, the Commission revoked the broker license of Ms. Warren effective April 1, 2002. The Commission found that Ms. Warren, as broker-in-charge of a firm, failed to perform the duties of broker-in-charge.
CHRISTOPHER S. WEBB (Rocky Mount) – The Commission revoked the broker license of Mr. Webb effective March 8, 2002. The Commission found that Mr. Webb, while in actual control of a real estate firm’s trust account records and, later, after becoming the broker-in-charge of the firm, failed to accurately account for and remit to others funds the firm held for them as a broker, failed to maintain a system of ledgers, journal and monthly reconciliations, could not account for funds of others received by him and his firm in the course of their brokerage business, and continued to deposit and disburse trust money from accounts with insufiicient funds to meet liabilities. The Commission further found that Mr. Webb engaged in a series of two real estate transactions in which he acted both as agent for another and as a principal in which he falsified documents submitted to obtain loan approval, misrepresented material facts about the transactions to different parties, and failed to maintain or produce for inspection by the Commission the records required to be kept concerning these transactions.
This article came from the June 2002-Vol33-1 edition of the bulletin.
The new Questions and Answers on: Residential Subdivisions and Planned Communities brochure will educate consumers in both the new development and re-sale markets. It is the 10th Q&A brochure in the series including three in Spanish.
A companion brochure to Questions & Answers on: Condos and Townhouses, it includes information on road maintenance issues and how North Carolina’s Planned Community Act applies to residential developments.
The brochure is free and may be ordered using the Publications Order Form on page 7 of this issue of the Bulletin.
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.
The North Carolina Real Estate Commission currently has arrangements with the following states enabling North Carolina brokers and salespersons to obtain nonresident licenses there without taking their licensing examination:
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia.
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.
The Real Estate Commission also regrets to announce the passing of former member and Chairman John W. Olive (Wilmington) who served with distinction on the Commission from 1969 to 1973.
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.
I went to lunch one day and ended up in a slow line at my favorite fast food outlet. The fellow next to me in that line was a respected licensee with a similar taste in traditional southern cuisine. We fell to “talking shop,” including the various methods for valuing an ongoing real estate brokerage business. At the end of a complex discussion of ratios and formulas, he explained, “Now if the trust account is short, the value of the business is either zero or a negative number.”
OK. Simple. According to at least one licensee, if your trust account is short, no matter how many clients, contracts and other assets you have, your business is worthless. Does that mean that if the bank statement shows money in the trust account, you can just stop there? No!
Firm A does not correctly utilize an owner ledger system that balances to a journal, or perform the monthly reconciliation required by Commission rule. It is only when the Commission trust account auditor comes around for a visit that the BIC finds out that the firm routinely pays out earnest money from the trust account for closings when it is not actually holding that money because the deposit went to a builder. One would expect this to show up pretty soon with bounced checks, so the BIC at first can’t believe this.
However, because the BIC also was not closely reviewing the trust account records, he also had not figured out that in other transactions, where the closing attorney had credited the earnest money held by the firm in the trust account against the total amount of commission due at closing, Firm A had never taken those funds out of the trust account after closing. So, by unlawful commingling (which kept money belonging to the firm in the trust account instead of being transferred to its operating account, reducing the actual amount of the firm income it could spend), the BIC managed to keep himself from finding out that trust money was being misapplied!
I don’t have to make this example up — it happens all too often. Done intentionally, this kind of misconduct can be used by crooks to hide trust account embezzlement for awhile. Done unintentionally, the BIC disguises the value of the firm with a pretense of solvency. Either way, the licenses of the firm and its BIC are at risk, as is the money of the firm’s clients and customers.
The heart of the problem is that all too often, the BIC views the trust account record keeping as a burden or a homework assignment in a foreign language. Yet, how can the BIC know if the business itself is healthy and profitable if he or she really does not understand what the trust account is doing on a regular basis? Brokers-in-Charge have a responsibility to understand their office bookkeeping systems and to know what’s going on.
The key is that the BIC must understand how a ledger system is created, how the ledger system relates to the journal, and that simply balancing the bank statement to the journal is only the first step in the monthly reconciliation. The total of all the pending or open ledger balances should equal the reconciled bank balance which should equal the running balance on the journal. If to reach this balance, the firm must include negative balances on owner ledgers, there is a serious problem. No owner ledgers should ever have a negative balance.
If you are the BIC or bookkeeper and if the concepts described above don’t make sense to you, it’s time to take the trust account course and other educational programs to get yourself up to speed. Otherwise, you may wind up asking yourself, “Why isn’t my business worth more than zero?”
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.
Greta S. Frye of RE/MAX Hallmark Realty in Winston-Salem and Cathy A. Phillippi of Dickens-Mitchener and Associates in Charlotte are the recipients of the Commission’s Joe Schweidler and Blanton Little Memorial Scholarships for 2001.
The Commission awards the scholarships, in honor of Schweidler and Little, both former Commission Executive Directors, to persons selected by the North Carolina Real Estate Educational Foundation for outstanding scholastic achievement in the North Carolina REALTORS® Institute program during the previous calendar year.
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.
The Real Estate Association of Egypt (REA) has requested the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to provide technical assistance in helping it modernize the real estate industry in Egypt that, the Association proudly proclaims, has “survived seven millenniums”. The Commission has agreed to assist REA by preparing for its use a document identifying the major components of a real estate licensing and regulatory program based upon the North Carolina model and licensing programs in other states.
According to Association General Secretary Fathallah Fawzi and REA founding member Dr. Ahmed El-Sharkawy, “Current market conditions and the increasing sophistication of the market players (buyers and sellers) demand initiating a more formal, transparent and sophisticated framework to better regulate the real estate market in Egypt. REA believes that a framework will create the right environment to foster continuous improvement in the real estate market, which constitutes a considerable part of Egypt’s economy.” They add that the “proposed document identifying the major components of the licensing program shall be the foundation on which REA will work towards defining the blueprints of the REA licensing program.”
Hesham El-Boulaki, MCE, PE, who is both a native of Egypt and a North Carolina resident, will on behalf of REA, liaise with Commission Executive Director Fisher, Director of Education and Licensing Larry Outlaw and Legal Counsel Thomas R. Miller in developing the document and furthering the working relationships between REA and Real Estate Commission.
This article came from the February 2002-Vol32-4 edition of the bulletin.